pure
/ˈpjʉː.ə/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.64 in modern English
6
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Free of flaws or imperfections; unsullied.
adj
Free of foreign material or pollutants.
adj
Mere; that and that only.
adj
Of a single, simple sound or tone; said of some vowels and the unaspirated consonants.
adj
Without harmonics or overtones; not harsh or discordant.
Example Sentences
- "Such was the origin of a friendship as warm and pure as any that ancient or modern history records."
- "A guinea is pure gold if it has in it no alloy."
- "As for the rest, the air here is said to be purer than elsewhere in Ireland; the water of the Nore is beautifully transparent; and the bogless state of the land helps out the rhyme."
- ""Hetch Hetchy water is the purest, wholly unpolluted, and forever unpollutable.""
- "Laye hondes sodenly on no man nether be part taker of wother mens synnes. Kepe thy silfe pure."
- "That idea is pure madness!"
Etymology
From Middle English pure, pur, from Old French pur, from Latin pūrus (“clean, free from dirt or filth, unmixed, plain”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“to cleanse, purify”). Displaced native Middle English lutter (“pure, clear, sincere”) (from Old English hlūtor, hluttor), Middle English skere (“pure, sheer, clear”) (from Old English scǣre and Old Norse skǣr), Middle English schir (“clear, pure”) (from Old English scīr), Middle English smete, smeate (“pure, refined”) (from Old English smǣte; compare Old English mǣre (“pure”)).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈpjʉː.ə/
- British English: /ˈpjʊə/
Usage
Inflected Forms
purer (comparative)
more pure (comparative)
purest (superlative)
most pure (superlative)
pures (present, singular)
puring (participle, present)
pured (participle, past)
pured (past)
pures (plural)
Derived Forms
Phrases
as pure as the driven snow
pure air
pure and simple
pure as driven snow
pure as the driven snow
pure blue
pure-bred
pure cancer